After dropping the first game of a three-game series with the Johnson City Lady Eagles (22-8-1), the Thrall Tigerettes (23-8) rallied to win the final two games and capture the bi-district title.
The series win also propels the Tigerettes into the area round of the playoffs.
“This series was a battle,” Thrall Coach Matt Pokorny said. “Johnson City is a very solid and well-coached team. But I knew going into this series that we were ready, due to our super tough district.”
Game one was played in Johnson City Friday, April 26. The Lady Eagles rallied from a 3-2 deficit to tie the score in the sixth and pull out the win in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Dezi Lopez led the Tigerettes at the plate with a trio of hits, while Ashlyn Jarosek added a pair of hits for Thrall. Miley Pokorny allowed 11 hits over six and two-thirds innings of work in the circle.
The final two games were played on Thrall’s field. The Tigerettes held a 5-3 lead entering the top of the seventh inning in the second game, but Johnson City managed to push across a pair of runs to send the game to extra innings tied at five.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Thrall got back-toback singles by Lopez and Bri Jarosek, and the bases went full when Miley Pokorny was intentionally walked with no outs. Kyla Gee followed with a fielder’s choice to shortstop that drove in Lopez for the winning run.
Bri Jarosek led Thrall with a pair of hits, while her sister, Ashlyn, knocked out her sixth home run of the season. Miley Pokorny picked up the win allowing 10 hits over eight innings of work.
In the deciding game of the series, the two teams battled into extra innings once again. The Lady Eagles held a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the fourth inning, but Thrall responded with a pair of runs on a pair of walks and a trio of hits from Gee, Melaina Grissom and Kenzie Engelke.
Gee and Adelynn Bishop gave the Tigerettes a 6-4 lead in the fifth inning, each driving in a run, but the Lady Eagles rallied with two in the sixth inning to tie the score again.
The teams battled into the bottom of the eleventh inning when the Tigerettes finally broke through. With one out, Ashlyn Jarosek singled and Lopez and Bri Jarosek walked to load the bases. Miley Pokorny followed with a fielder’s choice down to first that scored Ashlyn Jarosek for the winning run.
“After the first game loss, I told the ladies that we were still the better team and that we had been tested all season long,” Coach Pokorny said. “I told them we were going to go back to Thrall and win two in a row and clinch bi-district. The word to describe Saturday was epic.”
The coach singled out the play of his seniors.
“Ashlyn, Dezi, Melaina and Stephanie (Widner) helped pick up the team through both games,” he said. “They made tremendous plays in both games. They played all-in and refused to lose.”
The Tigerettes will face the Burton Lady Panthers Saturday, May 4 in Mumford in a single game for the area championship. The first pitch is at 2 p.m.
